The first job over the border was the usual, to change my currency which I got done and then pick up a local sim card. That all sorted out, I looked for a hotel, there were lots of large casinos on the border and thought it might be fun to stay at one of those. I was figuring they may offer discounted rates to encourage people to stay on site and gamble.
I headed back to the border to a strange no man's land in which I found the Star Vegas Resort. There was confusion over the price they said 2,000 which in Cambodian currency is 38p fantastic! However, it turned out they wanted Thai money which was more like £55. Not that cheap then so I saddled up and road back east and got a reasonable hotel at $15 for the night.
There was no further deterioration in the saddle rash so I decided I would stick with the Decathlon shorts and Vaseline for the next two days it would take me to get to Siem Reap and then review matters but looked more positive than 24 hours ago.
I celebrated my arrival in Cambodia with the local brew and dinner with a toad although he didn't seem to like noodles.
The internet was pretty slow at the hotel so it took me ages to find somewhere to stay for my three days in Siem Reap but eventually got that done but had to wait until the next morning to update this blog.
My basic plan was from Poipet where I am now, to head to Siem Reap then down to the capital Phnom Penh then either head straight to coast at Krong Koh to get back into Thailand or maybe take a further loop south to the resort of Sihanoukville.
The blog finished and with no breakfast at the hotel I headed downstairs at 8 am in need of a coffee and recovered my bike only to find the back tyre flat again!! I pumped it up thinking maybe it is the valve but by the time I had loaded it up the tyre was already soft. I decided the need for coffee was greater and rode the stricken bike down the road to a petrol station where I was already riding on the rims when I got to the Amazon Cafe (look alike Starbucks).
Once my caffeine levels had been restored and a cake consumed I replaced the tube and again could find no cause for the puncture which was frustrating but was at last on the road at just gone 9am with 60 miles to get done today.
The road across the border once we cleared the city diminished to a single carriageway but was wide enough and the traffic not too busy so there was plenty of room.
I got the overall impression as I cycled on that Cambodia was a poorer country than Thailand which I had just left.
I was being asked to pay in dollars a lot more which is an indicator the the economy is not thriving.
However, the real stark reality of the economic situation was dramatically brought home to me by the dramatic reduction in the quality of frozen confectionery at the first stop. I hope is not a foretaste of what is to come!
Thank goodness I filled my boots with Magnums before I crossed the border.
There were no seven elevens now so the supply of server your own iced coffee had also dried up. I found a place at the halfway point but again the ice to coffee ratio was pitiful and I had to get a refill.
The buggers went and put more ice in!. Good mini pizza though.
Despite being slightly off I still made good progress and the milestones I passed were telling me that if all goes well, I should be in Siem Reap by lunchtime tomorrow.
If I am then hopefully able to check in to my hotel early this will give me time to sort out my plans of the next few days of sightseeing to come.
Angkor Wat is for certain but there are a few other options consider looking at as well.
At my final stop I could not find any lunch so had to make do with a worsening choice from the freezer but did manage to drink something to balance all the fizzy pop I keep downing.
I rolled into a pretty basic guest house at about 4pm but was OK for a fiver. After I got washed, I got to work mending the inner tube I took out this morning and tensioned up my saddle which I hoped might further improve my comfort on the bike.
Right, 33 miles to Siem Reap today so should be there by lunchtime but as no breakfast at the guest house the first job was coffee. My search on Google Maps my second source of information told me there was a café 23 miles in the direction I was going or 2 miles in the other.
The other it was so now 35 miles to Siem Reap today. There was good coffee but no food available so I dug around in my food bag and pulled out some pineapple biscuits and this berry Hike Bar that Colin had given to me in Kathmandu which had travelled well.
Fuelled up I hit the road an instantly knew this was not going to be a good day. The wind had blow over a sign and plant whilst I was at the café was full in my face and if I had been turned down to 9 the last couple of days I was definitely more like 7 today.
I was short of breath and my lungs were burning as I battled against the wind. I had to pull over and sit down after just 6 miles to try and get my breath back. I was outside a house that was shuttered up but as I got ready to go small boy in a towel came out who I waved to but he disappeared.
I got going again and said to myself that I had all day to cover the next 30 miles and to just take my time and stay hydrated. That I did and started to improve after the fitful start I think my lungs were getting accustomed to the work. I also thought how it was important to make sure I had time in hand on this last section as all it would take is a few days illness to make me late for my Singapore rendezvous.
At 15 miles done I topped up with some chocolate coke. Think of coke but sweeter if you can possibly imagine such a thing!
I stuck the lycees drink into my water bottle with water only to discover as I got half way through it there were bits in it which were clogging the nozzle and nothing came out so I had to stop again for another refill.
Whilst I was drinking an elderly monk passed by on his collecting rounds dispensing blessing for hard cash with the use of the temple rotavator.
It was a day devoid of frozen confectionery as most of the small shops along the way were using large cool boxes with blocks of ice in to cool their drinks but no freezers. The woman in the picture above pulled out a block of ice and cut half off with a saw to take home.
It was approaching 12 noon when I arrived at the outskirts of Siem Reap so I made good time in the end and headed for Pub Street to get some lunch and more fluids.
Cheers everyone!
I also found a dramatic upswing in the availability of Magnums at the shop opposite my hotel and a bath in my room life had just got a lot better!
.....but no hot water, that put a damper on things!
I had a sleep in the afternoon to recharge my batteries and stay out of the heat but returned to Pub Street that evening for some dinner and found a bar showing the first rugby I'd see since watching the world cup final in Kathmandu ...it still hurts!
The next morning I set off early to explore Angkor Wat and cycled to what was shown on the map as the ticket checkpoint which said toll both in the description but when I arrived there I was told no I need to go 3 miles back into Siem Reap and buy a ticket there.
I had tried to check this out last night by putting Buying tickets for Ankor Wat into Google but in true Google fashion got pages of agencies who would sell me a ticket or arrange a tour rather than the information I actually needed so set off this morning in hope.
I found out it was bloody expensive as well at $37 for a one day ticket and $62 for three days.
I decided as I had lost the advantage of an early start today I would now get a one day pass for tomorrow.
I will head up at the crack of dawn and try and cover as much as I can in a single day.
I went back to my hotel and a second breakfast or rather some more filter coffee whilst I updated this blog.
I then found a reasonably priced massage to stretch out the last 5 days on the road. I can confirm that my saddle sore is truly gone. If someone grabbed my buttocks that hard a few days ago I would have disappeared through the window and they would have been left just holding a pair of shorts!
In the afternoon I rode out to the Cambodian War Remnant Museum which told the story of the brutal civil war which raged in the country and showed examples of the arms which were used in the conflict. The site was formerly a prison in these times and also a mass grave. The was a section on the use of land mines across the country and how the clearing of them continues today and is expect not to be completed until 2025.
The photos were very faded but Princess Diana could be seen top right and I would warn you there is a harrowing photo at the end of a young landmine victim.
After that I needed some light relief so booked tickets to see the Cambodian Circus that evening which is another produce of the war as this started life as an arts project in the refugee camps close to Siem Reap and is now a flourishing performing arts school and company.
The performance was called White Gold in reference to the countries staple food rice.
I took a few videos as well which are below:
The next morning, I set my alarm for 5 am skipped breakfast and set off in the dark to ride north to Angkor Wat. I arrived as dawn was breaking to join the crowd trying to take the perfect photo.
I didn't linger but pushed on into the temple which is an amazing Russian doll of a structure over the moat and past the West gate and walkway you come to a large gallery the beyond that an elevated square from which you climb into the temple itself the centre of which is a simple chapel.
I was in the first 100 people allowed in the temple and was pretty appalled at the behaviour of the young British backpackers who I was unfortunately with. One made a song and dance over putting a skirt on so he was respectfully dressed calling it a dress and parading around pretending to be a girl, another was told to remove his hat which he then put straight back on once past the entrance.
Angkor Wat
It was still early when I left the temple so I grabbed a coffee from a van close by and planned out the rest of my day.
The Angkor site is massive with not just this one temple but many others set around the site I would have reached temple burn out to have tried to see them all but wanted to see the two other popular sites, Bayon a temple dedicated to Buddha. Angkor Wat by the way started life as a Hindu temple which was then taken over by Buddhists. Finally, I planned to visit Ta Prohm the (Tomb Raider) temple which has been swallowed by the forest.
Bayon
At Bayon there was a pile of stones at the side and it struck me what a massive jigsaw puzzle it must be to try and restore these temples but that was nothing compared to the next place!
Ta Prohm
That evening I took a walk to the Royal Gardens which is opposite the royal residency and caught more bats hanging in the trees who were waking up and heading out for the night.
These were giant fruit bats and made and impressive sight as they took to the air see the video below.
On my last day in Siem Reap I was planning to cycle out to the floating village which was on the lake about 10 miles to the south of the city. However, the research I had done flagged up warning signs that this was all a bit of a tourist scam and as soon as they get you on the boat the cost mount.
I did however find a recommended village 30 miles away called Kampong Khleang which Mapsme showed had a homestay hostel in the centre. This was on the way to Phnom Phen so I booked a bed for the following night.
I went for a wander around and came across this bamboo bike outside a shop selling local goods. I heard about a guy who tried to ride the Pamir Highway on one of these but it started to fall apart so I was not tempted to do a trade in!
Only 30 miles to ride today so I had a leisurely breakfast whilst I uploaded the photos from the temples above which was better on the ground floor as the WiFi signal was stronger down there.
As I came back from the temples I could feel I had another bloody puncture again in my rear tyre so my next job was to fix that. I removed the tyre and carefully did a fingertip inspection of it but again could find no fault. I just wonder if the inner tubes are just wearing out with all the miles but put a repaired tube in which had previously had a pinhole in so I had mended this with one of those self adhesive patches which I've not tried before. I had to take the tube I had removed back to my room and in a basin of water and also found a pinprick in that as well so likewise put an adhesive patch onto fix it.
I pumped up the tyre fitted the wheel back on the bike and was halfway through loading it up when the back tyre was flat again! I repeated the process but just had a quick look at the tube that came out but by the looks of it the Evans Cycles stick on patch looks suspect so I've no confidence in the other tube either!
I finally got on the road and once out of the city came across this guy having lunch by the roadside. I was good to see after viewing the exhibition on landmines earlier that we are continuing the efforts on the ground to support their removal.
Soon I was taking a right turn and heading down the dead end which would take me to the village of Kampong Khleang and once I had paid my $5 entry fee I was in.
It is now the dry season so I was able to ride right into the village but you will notice the buildings are raised up off the ground with landing stages which they can use as the waters rise.
Once I had toured the village I found the homestay which was really nice with a balcony out at the back which overlooked the main waterway and you could see and especially hear the boats going past on their way to and from the lake.
It was $25 to take a one hour boat ride from the quay opposite out to the lake. This was too rich for me so I grabbed a hammock and read for a bit. I also talked to some of the other travellers including a Belgian guy who had flown into Bangkok and was cycling out to to Ho Chi Minh City and back.
After dinner I was wilting fast as it had been a late final night in Siem Reap so I crawled under my mosquito net and got an early night.
There was no risk of a lie in at the homestay it was Saturday so the temple kicked off the dawn chorus or in fact the pre-dawn chorus at 5 am when they switched their music on. This was followed by about a thousand cocks crowing and then the loud engines you can hear on the video started up as the fishermen set off to go to the lake.
It was omelette for breakfast which was a no no for me so they brought me some parcels of sticky rice which were nice.
It would have been good to cycle with the Belgian guy who was also heading to Phnom Penh but he was not covering the same daily distance as me. He was aiming for 50 miles today which he thought was too much where as I was looking to cover 75 so we said our goodbyes at breakfast and I got an early start.
I weaved my way through the village saying hello to all the children who shouted hello to me and waved and it struck me just what a friendly place Cambodia was.
I spent the day waving and shouting hello in response as I rode on sometimes to unseen children who I just heard as I shot past.
There was a strong headwind as I reached the main road and again turned west. I thought this was going to be a tough day which got even tougher at the first break by the poor selection of frozen confectionery and I was forced to make do with a Cornetto again.
This being Saturday there were a lot of weddings being arranged and I rode past many brightly coloured marquees along the road. Each had a loudspeaker mounted above them blasting out their own brand of terrible distorted music, I made note to bring some earplugs if I was ever invited to a Cambodian wedding.
I was making good progress as the wind had eased a bit, no doubt as I moved away from the lake and I had passed the Belgian guy's 50 mile finishing point by midday.
Then looking at the route ahead there seemed to be a barren stretched so not far after that I stopped at what looked to be the last roadside restaurant for some miles. They had all the food laid out which was great so I was able to point at the various pans and had pig, veg and rice for my lunch
I then had about 25 miles to go but there was a rest stop next to a lake about 20 miles ahead so I decided I would have a splash and dash stop there to break up the distance. This was about perfect timing as I had nearly gone through all my water by the time I had arrived.
The place was obviously a favourite stop off with coach tours and was awash with tourists. Chinese I suspected by the signs in the coach windows and the way I was jostled at the shop check out. Being a tourist mecca that can only mean one thing and my inner truffle hound took over as I routed out a Magnum to eat overlooking the lake.
You will note I went for the healthy macadamia nut variety and a diet coke what a good boy!
I arrived at the first guest house but this was on the outskirts of the town and was surrounded by tyre depots. I still had time in hand and there were a couple more shown towards the centre so I pressed on and ended up chalking up 80 miles for the day. My Belgian friend would have been very impressed!
Where I ended up was still not in the centre of the town which was another half a mile away but was near to a noodle bar chain I had seen a few times so I went in there for my dinner. It was was a bit mile MacDonald's does noodles.
I sat inside making full use of the air con but had to sit on the floor eating off a long low counter that faced the window. My glorified pot noodle arrived as did some people on the seats next to the window. They were higher than me and I felt like an exhibit at the zoo as they all looked down at "Western Man Eats Noodles"
I headed down the next morning and recovered my bike to find the back tyre was a bit soft which I hoped was just a bit of a leak at the valve and not another flat so blew it up and crossed my fingers.
I skipped breakfast in the hotel which was reasonably priced but too much egg based in preference to another Amazon café down the road where I had a cappuccino a sort of Bakewell tart sticky rice fusion and what looked like pecan pie but actually turned out to be savoury.
That polished off I crossed the road to take a picture of the temple opposite the hotel which was pretty impressive then headed into the city centre.
I crossed the river and was glad I didn't venture out far last night as the riverfront was not exactly picturesque so would have been a wasted journey.
As I remounted a couple of mountain bikers went past and shouted hi! I thought I might be able to catch them but slowly they edged out of sight as I left the city behind.
I did find them later on that morning when one had set his phone up to take a video so I snuck in behind him and photobombed it. The other guy was having a wee so I carried on at a moderate pace and thought they will catch me up in due course. Sure enough a couple of miles down the track I had mountain bikers in my mirror and after they had taken a few photos they overtook me the back one conducting a video interview as we went.
They pointed at a hill to the right and invited me to go mountain biking with them but I said no thanks I was heading right to Phnom Phen and we said our goodbyes.
I had just over 60 miles to cover today and I decided on a three stop strategy so that I made sure I had plenty of water.
I carry a spare litre on the bike which I had to use yesterday but it makes no sense to pour luke warm water into my drinking bottle when if I get my stops right I can grab a cold one from a roadside fridge.
Things were looking up at the first stop there were cool drinks, no Magnums though but a good substitute Mr Triple with added strawberry in the middle which might make it into my top 10 of all time.
I had similar success at the halfway point with a double chocolate look a like that went down well.
I was then struggling to find a restaurant or café for a reasonable lunch as this was a pretty long ride.
So ended up with a couple of bags of prawn crackers and some deep fried rice cakes which filled a hole.
I also found another nice temple in a similar Pagoda style which seems to be popular in this area.
I made it to the guest house by 3 pm and hoped I could get a room as the next one on MapsMe was over 10 miles away which I didn’t fancy covering but once Grandma had found the owner I was in but the pricing policy was a bit strange.
She showed me the room which was pretty basic and punched into her phone 30,000 about £6 so I thought OK thumbs up.
Then she punched in 15,000 and pointed at the air con, another £3, the unit was missing the front but I though yes I’ll have AC and handed over 50,000 expecting change.
She held her finger up for one more 10,000 note so I went through the maths with her again on my phone 30,000 + 15,000 = 45,000? Her answer was to punch 60,000 into her phone. £12 was a bit steep and I didn’t like she had changed the price so I took 20,000 back and waved away the AC remote.
Then she said WiFi and punched into her phone 33,333 which I thought was the password then I realised she wanted £6 for the WiFi. The cheeky whatsit Mrs O’Leary was going to wring more money out of me somehow so I told her to Foxtrot Oscar (internally that is) and decided I could live without the web.
I updated this blog, off line of course, and as I did so heard a screech and crunch as an accident happened on the road outside. That done I headed out as the sun went down to get some food from the bakery up the road and saw that two minivans had been in a head on collision at the junction.
There was one young girl who looked like she had been in the front of one of the vans with a crowd around her. I saw her face was covered in cuts but she looked more shaken than injured but other than that there seemed not be any other casualties.
Right just over 40 miles to go to get me to Phnom Phen today I had a good wake up call as the guest house kept chicken so the cockerels were crowing as the sun came up.
No breakfast on offer from Mrs O'Leary I thought she would have a try and get me to pay for that so it was back to the bakery for a couple of what looked like pasties and a baked crocodile.
The pastie turned out to contain sweet sticky rice which was quite filling so one of those got saved for later and there was also a strange flavoured sticky rice inside the crocodile.
Not crocodile flavoured but sweet and after getting through over half I tossed the rest to a waiting dog who polished it off whilst I got ready to get on the road.
There was no coffee at the bakery but I had seen that there was a rest point 7 miles down the road.
So I thought I could have an early break there and then split the remaining distance in two and have a half way stop which should work OK especially as it was still cool and I had not touched any water by the time I arrived there.
I ordered a coffee was told to sit down and 15 minutes later as nothing had arrived I left so much for that plan.
OK plan B was push on for another 15 miles or so and have another stop there then about a mile later when I got the shakes and that plan got revised to unless I see somewhere for a coffee which I did!
After that I was absolutely screaming along with just a relatively short day I was not holding back to conserve energy. I suddenly looked down and I had less than 10 mile left to go to reach Phnom Phen and was well ahead of schedule and in danger of arriving before 12 noon in order that the sun was over the yardarm and I could have a beer.
I could see whilst I stopped and polished off the second pastie that I was close to the Mekong River now so I revised my route to take me to a ferry crossing point so I could take a good picture and then follow a back road along the river for a few miles.
The backroad was narrow and badly maintained with a six ft wall on the riverside so I was deprived of any river view. I abandoned that route and was back on the highway and soon crossing a large tributary on an impressive temporary Bailey Bridge with a view of downtown to my left.
I was soon in there with no real drama and had some time to kill so got a by passer to take a picture to mark the easternmost extent of my ride.
I will have a few days off now, then as I have decided against the further loop to Sihanoukville I will start heading west and back towards Thailand.
On the river promenade I just caught the tail end of a photo display that recorded the 40 year anniversary in 1979 of the repopulation of Phnom Phen after the defeat of the Khmer Rouge. They had depopulated this and other cities during their harsh Year Zero programme where they forced the inhabitants out into farming collectives.
The event looks somewhat like the gold rush where people massed on the outskirts of the city waiting for the approval to enter so they could stake their claim to one the abandoned buildings.
The next day I continued my journey of discovery into the Khmer Rouge regime when I grabbed a tuk tuk and headed over to the Tuoi Sleng Museum of Genocide.
This was a former high school that was converted into a detention and torture centre called S21 where it is estimated 20,0000 people were detained and there were only 12 known survivors.
To say the experience was harrowing was a gross understatement. In fact I can't really sum it up in a few words but as the audio guide describes it is what happens when good people do nothing.
I would warn you that there are graphic photos and text below.
The process involved the torture of victims until they provided satisfactory confessions to warrant their execution. This execution and burial initially happen at the site but when they quickly ran out of room this process was transferred to the so called "Killing Fields" situated outside of the city.
The interrogators some of whom are pictured below, were young men and women some only teenagers who were recruited in the countryside. They trained and practiced on animals to desensitise them from the suffering which they inflicted.
Some interrogators would fall foul of the system by either being too lenient on prisoners or the opposite which could result in an untimely death. Sometimes their families would be taken into custody to ensure they towed the line but many interrogators also became victims of the S21 process themselves.
The barbed wire was put on the front of the buildings to prevent suicides after one prisoner threw himself from the top balcony. There were other accounts of a prisoner stabbing himself in the neck with the pen he was supposed to write his confession with and another breaking a kerosine lamp over himself and burning to death.
Of the 12 survivors two were artists who were put to work painting propoganer art and portraits for the regime. However, after their release they went on to produce works that depicted life at the centre from their own experiences or what they had been told.
Lining the rooms were hundreds and hundreds of photographs of victims who were each recorded on their entry into the prison and some presumably who died during interrogation on their exit. There were descriptions in the audio guide of how people spent days trawling through all these photos looking for loved ones after the fall of the regime.
One photo is of Hout Bophana whose story, like Anne Frank in the second world war, came to symbolise the brutalities of the regime. Communication and religion was banned so she was arrested and detained for 5 months at S21 when letters to her husband were discovered in which she make reference to Buddhist prayers.
The picture showing the torture of women was just too horrible to capture.
You can learn more about her story here.
Not all the victims were Cambodian, a New Zealander Kerry Hamill was arrested with Brit John Dewhurst when the boat he was sailing in strayed into Cambodian waters and both ended up in S21.
In his written confession he managed to poke fun at the Khmer Rouge confirming that he reported to a Colonel Sanders in Kentucky. He also stated that one of his contacts was an S Tear which was a coded message to his mother Ester that he was thinking of her was he signed his own death warrant.
May they rest in peace.
That afternoon I watched The Killing Fields on streaming and would recommend this to anyone who wants a better insight into the conditions in Cambodia at that time.
Time for some retail therapy after that! So the next day like any good surveyor I was drawn to concrete and paid a visit to the impressive central market where I replaced the shirt I bought in Samarkand which was past it's best and some trousers to replace the ones I bought in New Delhi which are now tight round my thighs which must have grown a bit!
I also bought a replacement camera which I procrastinate about until the woman at the stall dropped the cost down from $55 to $27 so was too cheap not to.
Today I left the city, made the turn and started to head west incorporating on my route a visit to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre one of the infamous killing fields situated to the south of Phnom Phen where the estimated 20,000 inmates of S21 were transported to for execution.
I would again warn you that there are graphic photos and text below.
The process was quite efficient here that trucks would take the prisoners away at night from S21 saying they were being taken to another camp to placate them. Many knew this was the end game though and maybe after the torture they had endured were relieved that their suffering was coming to an end.
Initially the executions were carried out that night with prisoners marched straight up to a pit knelt down. Bullets were scarce and expensive so they were hit over the head with a hammer, hoe, bar or anything which would do the job.
A diesel generator provided lighting so they could do their work and revolutionary songs were played on loudspeakers rigged up across the site to drown out any shouts and screams.
Once the nights work had been done the bodies were covered with DDT and other such chemicals to keep down the smells and also finish of any unfortunate who had only been knocked unconscious. Once one pit was full they dug another and moved on.
Soon though the site could not process the increasing number of prisoners sent so a holding cell had to be constructed. This was double planked so the prisoners were kept in darkness until they could be despatched the following night.
Those graves that have been excavated can be seen as depressions in the ground and some particular graves have been fenced off and covered with a roofs which the trail at the centre takes you to the pictures of which are below.
The grave of the headless corpses were found to be wearing military uniforms and were Cambodian troops from the eastern provinces. When the regime started to disintegrate there were many troops in this region that defected across the boder to the Vietnamese army who would eventually invade Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot ordered purges of these regiments and those found to be sympathetic to the Vietnamese which would be anyone take to S21 was deemed that their head was Vietnamese so was chopped off.
The pit filled with women and children was next to The Killing Tree which was found with blood and fragments of skull and brain matter on. This is where the executioners had grabbed the children by they legs and beat them against the tree. The fact that the women were naked is a reference to them being raped before they were then dispatched and pushed into the pit to join their children.
The regime had a saying to remove the grass you need to pull out the roots so the children of those convicted were usually also killed so there could be no one left to seek retribution.
At the bottom of the site is a lake where there are a further 40 mass graves which have been left undisturbed. The exhumation of remains stopped about 20 years ago here and at other sites across the country when the authorities came to the conclusion that the remaining victims should remain where they are buried.
From time to time material and bone fragments make their way to the surface and can be seen as you make your way through the site but are collected every few months and added to cases where they are preserved.
When they stopped exhumation a large stupa was constructed on the site and those remains were housed inside. This included about 9,000 skulls which were categorised to determine their age, sex and probable cause of death.
May they rest in peace.
I left the killing fields and found a very aptly named cafe at the entrance where I had some lunch then set off to complete my journey for the day.
First I had to battle my way back towards the city centre and then take the main highway west. The ride was pretty uninspiring as it was mostly urban highway for the rest of the afternoon.
There was a suggested bike route down the river but that was and extra 10km so as it was just an afternoon I opted to try and get a much done as possible so the highway is was.
Talking on uninspiring my ice lolly choice was strawberry with strawberry which overall was a bit too how can I say strawberry for me.
I had a few guest houses I had selected on the route and passed the first two which were a bit uninspiring (word of the day) and eventually pulled into one which had a coffee shop/restaurant opposite so I was sorted for a meal tonight.
The room was basic but $6 which seems to be the going rate with no AC.
There were no catering facilities there so I nipped down the road to buy some drinks and to make up for my earlier disappointment picked up a Jumbo Magnum with my spare change.
(see what I did there?)
That evening I plotted my route to the coast as, given I had not seen the sea since last June, I planned to have a day off at the beach when I hit the coast.
I had hoped to stay at Koh Kong resort close to the border I was aiming for (see map at the start of this blog). However, I looked at booking a room but found out the price was $50 a night which seemed fair as the place looked nice but a bit steep for me. Further research threw up a place nearby that had tents and bungalows on the beach for $5 a night and looked fun so I decided I would go and have a look at that first.
That being the case I had a 60 mile ride tomorrow followed by a 50 mile ride with a climb and then a 45 miles with a few hills the day after that which should work out OK to get me to the beach by lunch day three and time to review my options.
With 60 miles to do I was not under pressure so the next morning so completed my post about the Killing Fields then went across to the coffee shop/restaurant for some breakfast.
The place was heaving at 8 am with well dressed families who looked like they were having Sunday lunch not Saturday Breakfast I don't know whether this is a regular thing or just as it is Chinese New Year.
Service was slow because of the numbers and it was past 9 am when I got going and the road was chocka with traffic probably again due to the holidays.
At least I was still on a dual carriageway but that didn't last for long as once I had got through the town the traffic was compressed into a single lane which squeezed by me.
There was a unmade lane to the side but that was sand and gravel which was heavy going so I tried to stick to the tarmac although motorbikes and some cars did zoom past on reckless undertakes which was alarming.
As lorries and buses approached the hooted a few times presumably for me to pull off the road but I held my ground on the tarmac and fair play to them they mostly gave me room but there were a couple of close passes.
This being Saturday the wedding preparations were in full swing again with marques being erected. I guess being the dry season this must be peak time for the wedding planners as I can't see these elaborate but flimsy looking structures being much use in the rain.
I think I must have subconsciously realised I needed to maintain my concentration today as I maxed out on coffee at my first stop.
Getting back on the road it was clear that there was a big run to the beach happening today as I was passed by many pickup trucks with the family some coolers and a beat box in the back. Also lots of motorbikes with the distinctive round shape of a pop up tent attached.
Some looked like they were taking more than a bucket and spade though!
I realised looking at my route that I would be sharing the road with these lot for most of the day as they would be heading to the Sihanoukville area where the main resorts were.
I was revived at the halfway point when a tarmac hard shoulder appeared which I was able to ride on and and gave me some distance and protection from the traffic.
Unfortunately, after close encounter with a lorry and pile of stones dumped on it in a downhill section this tarmac disappeared all together and I was back to the sand and gravel.
I then came a cropper when I lost concentration and in a repeat of Uzbekistan my front wheel dropped the 2-3 inches off the tarmac and threw the bike to the left. I was unable to turn left into the fall due to the kerb of tarmac and turning right would have just accelerated me going over.
Fortunately I was going uphill at the time and so I continued with a slow motion fall that had me putting my leg and hand down to meet the road. That left me sprawled halfway across the carriageway and again fortunately this happened in a break in the traffic so the car approaching had time to stop. If I was being overtaken by a lorry at the time I would have been toast!
I got to the side of the road and had a few deep breaths and for a bit when I hear a lorry I pulled off the tarmac but that just didn't work as then I was susceptible to the manic undertakers. I would find the surface OK but then it would turn to sand where I struggled to control the bike or the umade section would just disappear over a steam or past a tree which always seemed to be when the height difference was the greatest so I couldn't just merge back onto the road but had to attack the upstand at 45 degrees which jettisoned me into the road so this manoeuvre had to be timed to perfection.
In the end I just got back on the tarmac and bloody well concentrated.
As I worked my way south I saw things I had not seen for a few weeks hills and clouds not just white ones you will observe but some were grey I assume picking up moisture from the sea as I was pushing a headwind and the coast was only about 15 miles away.
Not long after taking this photo I made a right turn and there was thankfully a dramatic change in the level of the traffic as I left behind most of the the holiday makers and struck out towards Thailand.
The wind was building now and was definitely a sea breeze developing as it was late in the day. I was pushing into it as I managed to find a bed at the second guest house on the port road that I tried and was done for the day.
The guest house I ended up at was pretty remote being part way down to the port with no shops or restaurants close by.
The restaurant was in the process of being refurbished so the catering options were limited. I selected the pear off the shelf only to be told it wasn't for sale but as I went to put it back they said I could have it anyway for free, which was a useful supplement to my dinner.
There was obviously no breakfast at the guest house so I had saved a few pineapple biscuits to get me going which I polished off with some water and got on my way.
There were much better road conditions now actually wider with greatly reduced traffic so I was looking forward to a pleasant days ride. I had about 55 miles to do as I knew there were some hills to come so had reduced the target distance accordingly.
I was again assaulted with shouts of “hello” from the kids and some adults as I rode along with Stu’s comedy horn getting a few giggles along the way it was a great addition to the bike sometimes when I pull up at a shop and cafe I see a shy child one toot on the horn soon has them smiling!
There were a few cafes 3 miles down the road so I pulled in at one who were doing rice and veg for breakfast but also had a fruit stall so having got the taste from my pear at dinner I bought a couple of apples and some tangerines for my breakfast.
I was now approaching a national park and this still being a bank holiday weekend there were many people parked up and having picnics along the way.
Soon I came to a junction with a sign to the beach or up a hill. The beach was tempting but this was at the end of a 40 mile peninsula so getting to the sea would have to wait for a couple more days and I hit the hill and the start of the national park.
As I climbed the hill, a pick up came past me and stopped at the top the sign on it said it was from an orphanage. As I drew alongside there were two women and a couple of girls inside and they offered me a lift. I turned into a full touring cyclist veteran and said I was OK as I had ridden all the way from England. But it is hilly ahead they said. Again as a seasons pro now I said oh don't worry I’ve encountered worse hills on my journey here I’m sure I will be OK! I thanked them for their offer and we said our goodbyes.
As I rode up the next hill a car was waiting for me at the top I was thinking, they are not going to offer me a lift as well are they?
But as I passed, the window came down and a cold can of coke was held out how nice!
I glugged that down and enjoyed my next decent and that is how it when on for the last 20 miles of the day.
Not with people waiting at the top of each climb with drinks alas but they were steady climbs and descents sometimes over rivers as I bounced along the coast.
As I progressed I started to bonk, which is a cycling term for running out of energy, which it probably the symptom of the light dinner I had the night before and just fruit in the morning. I pulled into a shop at my 15 miles break but they just had jelly beans and smarties which were not enough. Thankfully at the next river there was a petrol station with a coffee shop where I was able to load up on caffeine with some hula hoops and Oreo biscuits which got me fueled up.
There was a ready supply of shops as I went along but these petered out for the last 10 miles so I had to go into my emergency water as there was no breeze today to keep the temperature down and at this late stage in the day I was taking on a lot of water. With just 3 miles to go I spotted a shop with some chairs outside and grabbed a couple of cold tins of coke. Unfortunately they only seem to sell soft drinks in small cans here. I could have demolished a litre bottle if they had one as I was sweating profusely so I think the liquid going in and coming out was about equal.
I found my stop for the night and had a ride around. There were a few homestays shown so I went to the biggest which seemed empty but there were some rooms made up and open so looked like I was in luck but I could not find anyone there to check in with. I tried the shop above but couldn’t get any sense out of the woman there.
So I rode back along my route and found a nice little homestay set back off the road where I got a bed for the night. I had a wash which involved pouring buckets of cold water over myself from a big tank which was very refreshing!
I got an early start in the morning as I woke up it was light as they kept the lights on in the house and my "room" was just partitioned off so the walls didn't touch the ceiling. My watch said it It was 5.30 but I was wide awake so thought let's get going and I will be by the sea sooner.
I had my breakfast, got changed and packed my stuff away then looked outside it was now 6.15 and it was still dark. It should be light soon I thought so got my laptop out and updated this blog whilst I waited. This passed the time and at 7 am I thought right let's get on the road looked out the window and it was still pitch black!
This is not right I checked my phone, it was 1.37 in the morning! My watch has an alternative time feature on it God knows what that is set to but I had somehow turned on that function. I went back to bed and hoped I could sleep as I had downed a can of coffee with my breakfast. I managed as the next time my eyes opened was to finally see daylight streaming through the window.
I was on the road for 7.15am and called into the shop to buy more coffee but was not hungry having of course eaten much earlier.
The day started with a repetition of climbs seeking out masts which usually signified the highest point and some short relief.
My progress was slow over this terrane as you never make up the time lost on the downhills and thought my target of being on the beach by lunchtime might not happen.
There was again no roadside shops as I was in the remote forest or as the signs say the restored forest which was no doubt was ripped up when Pol Pot put the population that he had not killed into the countryside and to rice production.
After 20 miles I was into my emergency water again and stopped to top up my sugar levels with some jelly beans and checked how far I had left to go to the next shop.
The answer was 960 metres and sure enough as I rounded the next corner there it was.
I rehydrated with a coke and an iced tea and also had a second breakfast of a steamed bun.
This tasted really nice and I was thinking I might have a second when I looked down and saw something that was worse than a boiled egg in it, half a boiled egg!
Fortunately, the flavour of the meat had infused the egg so I couldn't taste it so I forced the rest down but you will not be surprised that I passed on seconds.
Looking at the terrain ahead things looked hopeful it was downhill from here over a river a couple of climbs and then a long descent to Koh Kong City itself and after this a couple of miles out to the coast.
In no time I was at the river crossing which was progressively bigger than the last with a fair amount of traffic on it plus some private pleasure craft moored up which I had not seen before.
I sweated up the climbs then suddenly in the distance I saw the sea! This was a big thing for me as excluding the Caspian Sea which, being landlocked, doesn't count in my book this is the first bit of connected coast I have seen since leaving The Black Sea in Georgia which was back in June 2019.
I didn't know that the food supply would be like at the beach so I had lunch at a container cafe in the city facing the last river crossing which was huge and there was a fleet of fishing vessels I could see moored along the quay as I rode over.
One final crossing this time a Bailey bridge causeway onto the island that I would be spending the next two nights on and I was there.
With it being the holidays no huts were available for my stay so I pitched my tent under a tree and hit the beach!
This was going to be my last nights in Cambodia so I took a day off before I made a break for the border which was now just seven miles away.
I was keen to make an early start the next day not least as the WiFi at the beach was limited so I was unable to update this blog. I wanted to book a hotel 35 miles away for tonight but when I tried the location was show much further off my route than I wanted. Rather than book a room, I thought I would leave it to chance and see where I found it or anywhere else for that matter.
I was packed up and ready to go at 8 am when they started serving breakfast. I ordered a chicken and egg sandwich (without the egg of course) scraped the egg out when it arrived and got going.
I was not the only one heading for the border today as I was passed by a German family and a Dutch couple from the resort in tuk tuks who both waved enthusiastically as they passed me on the road.
Riding along for the last couple of days I have noticed a number of these tall warehouses which have been emitting bird noises which were a mystery to me.
I decided they were one of three things:
Full of rice and the birds were feeding on it
Full of rice and the bird noise was some recorded distress call to keep the birds away
Full of birds.
I found the answer today as I rode past one that clearly had loudspeaker mounted around it so the answer was option 2.
That question answered, I climbed over a low hill and was at the border. This was much quieter than the crossing in and obviously had a lot of seafood import and export as it stank of fish!
My exit stamped in my passport I was soon in no man's land and my little bonus Cambodian tour came to an end.
Well nearly as there was some remaining unfinished business.
Battle of the beers
One thing I had caught my eye as I travelled through Cambodia was both Man City and Arsenal promoting opposing beer brands and thought it would be good to have a taste test to see who would be the winner.
I try not to drink in transit and when I was stopped at the tourist destination of Siem Reap and Phnom Phen it was Angkor Draft on special offer so never got to get the head to head together. However, on the border trying to offload my small change I came across both brands in the fridge and decided as this was a half day it was game on!
So I brought the two cans with me and let them chill in my fridge at my Thailand bungalow whilst I took a dip in the pool.
The result as I updated this blog was a not surprising. One - nil to the Arsenal, although it you were however to judge the contest by sales alone it would have been a convincing win by Man City as their beer was definitely the more prolific.